Teesta comes to the fore again with PM Hasina set to visit India

The sharing of water from the Teesta River, a long-pending issue, has come to the fore again as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit India on June 21-22 in her first bilateral visit after coming to power for the fourth successive term.

"I am not going to debate whether there is water in the Teesta or not. Half of the population of my constituency lives on the bank of the Padma, and I can drive my car in the middle of the Padma for six months of the year," Md Shahriar Alam, the lawmaker representing Rajshahi-6, said on Friday while speaking at a roundtable.

"This is the second document in 53 rivers (between India and Bangladesh) which was well-argued, well-negotiated and finalized at the secretary level," the former state minister for foreign affairs also said, adding that any change would mean that both countries had failed to respect their primarily agreed document.

"If the issue (Teesta) is not resolved, the food basket of Bangladesh might change. Irrigation using groundwater is not sustainable environmentally," he said.

The member of parliament was speaking at a roundtable on Bangladesh-India relations organized by the Bangla daily Bhorer Kagoj. Editor Shyamal Dutta moderated the talk; former foreign secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury, former ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmed, professors of international relations Dr Imtiaz Ahmed and Shahab Enam Khan, and Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh President Nurul Islam Hasib, among others, were present.

The prime minister's bilateral visit on June 21-22 had been in discussion for long, even before the Indian parliamentary election. However, her attendance at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on June 9 had also sparked speculation that the visit might be postponed.

Expectations, further enhancement of relations

"It will be a short visit on June 21-22, since the Awami League's 75th founding anniversary will be celebrated on June 23," Shahriar said, adding that the two governments had come to power with renewed mandate and there was continuity, which was good news for the people of two countries.

Aspirations were sky high, he said, adding: "Our prime minister has always believed in realizing legitimate demands while maintaining very good relations."

Shahriar said: "Water is a sensitive issue, but if we cannot solve the problem, the food basket of Bangladesh will change."

Bangladesh and India were scheduled to sign a Teesta water-sharing agreement on September 6, 2011 in Dhaka during the visit of then-prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh. It was dropped at the last moment due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

No deal means Bangladesh faces an acute shortage of water in the dry season and flooding on rainy days.

In the meantime, China has shown interest in Bangladesh's planned Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project, with an estimated cost of $1 billion.

Shahriar said the visit would be a stocktaking one and would set the tone for the next five years.

Former ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmed, meanwhile, said: "China has not given new ideas on Teesta. China has come forward at our request. India is showing interest as China has come forward. If India wants to help Bangladesh as a friendly country, India can prove it by implementing it urgently."

"There are many neighbours, but we should give priority to the country that will cooperate with our national interests. It is important to be friendly and cooperate with everyone,” he added.

Former foreign secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury said relations between the governments of the two countries were "very good and strong.”

"So we expect the Teesta agreement, which has been pending between the two countries since 2011, would be resolved. Besides, the Ganges treaty will expire in 2026. This agreement will be renewed."

Mobin said the Bihar government was opposing the Ganga agreement. "Hopefully there will be a change in that as the Bihar government is in alliance with Narendra Modi's party."

He also noted that border killings were continuing, which needed to be stopped.

Prof Imtiaz Ahmed said: "The water in the Teesta has decreased. Water management needs to be done jointly. China wants to work on the Teesta. We have to see whether the issue will have any impact on the development of India-Bangladesh relations.”

He, however, said: "We have to transform the geopolitical conflicts into geopolitical cooperation."

"Both India and China work closely in BRICS. They were together on the question of the Russia-Ukraine war. This year trade with China has surpassed that with the US. India and China were on the same page on Myanmar issues," he said.

"It is going to be a multi-polar world, and India is one of the 'polar' being the third largest economy in the world surpassing France and the UK. India wants to be a member of the UN Security Council."

Prof Shahab Enam Khan put forward a new idea of health sector cooperation along with other issues.

"Our health sector is a place of great weakness. Many patients go to India for treatment. In this, the wealthy class gets benefits, but most low-income people are not able to get medical services. We should enhance the health sector cooperation so that Indian doctors can give the service in Bangladesh, and this needs to be decentralized, not concentrated in big hospitals in Dhaka."